Sophia Lowe, who lived in Toronto at the time and worked at the Ontario Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration, recognized an opportunity to support refugees from outside of Syria who were having a difficult time being matched with sponsors. 

“I Initially reached out to friends, a couple colleagues, and friends of friends, [then] formed a group. It's really not that hard to form a group of people who share a concern around something,” she said. 

The young professionals shared a passion to help others in need, but helping refugees start their life in Canada was something they had never done before. They relied on family and their local sponsorship agreement holder for support.

“Part of the challenge for us was being new to it, knowing what to do, filling out paperwork. We all decided we would pitch in a little bit of money and then we would reach out to our family and friends to help. And because it was BVOR, there wasn't quite as much money to raise.”

Under BVOR, the government of Canada provides six months of financial support, while sponsors cover start-up costs and financial support for the remainder of the one-year commitment. Sophia and her friends sponsored two men from Eritrea. They arrived within two weeks of each other.

“We did decide to have them share an apartment, and so that made Toronto costs a little bit more reasonable. There was definitely a huge learning curve for a lot of people, especially folks who weren't in the sector. [They were] willing to figure something out and had a curiosity and desire to know how to do something.”

While the sponsorship lasted one year on paper, Sophia maintains contact with the refugees she supported. She even helped one of the men bring his wife and child to Canada.

“We’re friends on Facebook. [He] shares updates about getting married and cute things like that. The other person, every once in a while we send each other a message. One of the later sponsorships ended up being a family reunification that we supported. It took about three years to get his wife and child here.”

Sophia and her friends helped the Eritreans escape mandatory military service in their home country. Thanks to BVOR, the men were identified by the UN Refugee Agency and ready to travel in a matter of months, which aligned with the nascent careers of their sponsors.

“As young professionals, life is changing and evolving pretty quickly. We understood that BVOR was for people who have been referred for resettlement and they're ready to go. So we picked two people that we thought would be more difficult for other people to sponsor and we had enough budget to support two people.”

Refugee sponsorship allows young professionals to provide a local solution to a global crisis without having to rethink their five-year plan.

Start the journey to becoming a refugee sponsor — and learn about the networks and resources that can help along the way.